All along the 249-year journey that is America’s history We, the People have known horrors and we have known great forward leaps of humanity. The 20th Century supported so much of the hope that lives in our Constitution. However, it also ushered in what we bear witness to now, capitalism “run amuck.”
Americans came to believe that we all could have lifestyles of the rich and famous, and so that became the goal. Unregulated capitalistic endeavor has killed altruism. No longer did we look inward for our goals and dreams, such that we might also share the goals and dreams of others. Dreams and goals were simply expressed with dollar signs.
But then, there came the catch … for many working people resentment grew and overflowed. The thought festered: “there must be forces against me and mine.” Unions dissolved, employers became global and U.S. salaries stagnated, as prices increased. Credit became a lifeline and soon households found themselves trapped by escalating interest rates. The hunt for the forces in their way, reintroduced all the familiar tropes: racism, gender bias, immigrants, religious bigotry, “know it all” intellectuals, on and on the excuses flowed for why working people weren’t, if not famous, at least rich!
As we moved toward the 21st Century and people of color were no longer invisible; no longer the perceived harbingers of drug-addled criminality; it seemed they were everywhere and well-off. Even immigrant’s children sought education and prospered.
Resentment. And then came politicians who agreed: immigrants, DEI, welfare giveaways, criminals… on and on.
We are now seeing the results of resentment, justified and unjustified. Reagan brought us the notion of “Welfare Queens.” Technology opened the door for a handful of persons to become uber-wealthy; government showed that the preference was to bail out banks, rather than help those the banks had injured. Resentment, what that first actor President capitalized on has now been seized by the second actor President, a fully-realized grifter. Again, supported by the uber-wealthy.
The ideals that are embedded in our Constitution are eternal. The reality that is today’s America has a tremendous challenge: Remove resentment; Stop pretending that we have been without flaws; Demand that the uber-wealthy pay their fair share; Legislate money out of our politics and our Supreme Court; and, Hold every elected official accountable.
It’s going to take time, but not as much as one might think, not as long as we become committed and fair. Ah, therein lies the rub.
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